Romans Read About Nico di Angelo
by Mashrose
Summary: The Romans are skeptical about the son of the son of Pluto. So to help them understand him Vesta send them a book about his adventures with Percy. Nico will be reading it with them. Percy and Thalia may come in later. (Only the chapters with Nico or that will affect him later.)
1. A Visit From Vesta

**I own nothing all rights go to Rick Riordan.**

Third POV.

*Camp Jupiter*

The people of Camp Jupiter were wary of the new son of Pluto. He was nothing like his sister, Hazel. She was nice and sweet, and he was scary and creepy. They just didn't understand; they didn't care either. All they knew was that children of Neptune and Pluto were generally bad luck and it was best to stay away from, or ignore, him.

Unbeknownst to them Lady Vesta, also known as Hestia, was watching their ongoings with a frown. Nico was one of her favorite demigods, being one of the few who actually stopped to say hello to her, and she understood his actions and dislike towards the other demigods. She didn't like that they treated him differently because of his lineage. His Dad being the god of the dead didn't make him or his son evil. In fact the only people who would believe that is those who fear death itself, but Camp Jupiter prided themselves on being supposedly fearless. Death is a part of life; what makes it so special is knowing it will end. Death brings balance, and treating Nico differently because he wasn't afraid of death was unfair. So she decided to do something about it.

Nico was just visiting Hazel, to make sure everything was going fine for her since her rebirth and that she was not regretting her decision to go to Camp Jupiter, he didn't want her to feel left out like he was, when a meeting was called. It was apparent this was no ordinary meeting when Reyna announced that _everyone_ in Camp Jupiter and New Rome would be attending. As such there was no building big enough to hold that many people at the current moment so it was decided they would clear out the Field of Mars and set everyone up there. When everyone was settled in, a bright flash appeared and out of it came a goddess.

"Lady Vesta." Reyna said as the demigods and legacies bowed.

"What brings you here?"

"It has come to my attention many of you do not trust one of my favorite demigods," Vesta shared, "And I understand both sides of the story. So, I have come here to help you learn more about him in hopes that the rift between you may be banished."

"Who is it, my lady?" Jason asked.

"Nico di Angelo," She responded smiling slightly.

"One of the few who didn't pass by me without saying hello."

Everyone, shocked, turned to look at Nico who was trying to sink deeper and deeper into the shadows.

"I have decided, that you will be reading a book to better understand Nico. He wasn't always as withdrawn as he is today. What happened is something that is very hard for him to talk about himself." Vesta looked around to make sure that everyone knew how serious she was being.

"Before I start I need to explain something. Please hear me out before you jump to conclusions… The Greeks are still alive..." and with that she explained everything about the different aspects and the other camp.

"But Lady Vesta how is this related to our readings?" Reyna asked

"Because Nico is Greek." She stated waiting for the chaos.

"What!?"

"Traitor!"

"How?"

"Spy!"

"Filthy Greek!"(Octavian)

"Nico, is not a traitor or a spy, and heritage, has nothing to do with whether or not someone is good or bad. The only difference between now and a few seconds ago is that you now know that Nico is a son of Hades not Pluto."

She gave everyone a stern look before continuing.

"Nico has been forced to swear on the river Styx not to tell either side of the other by Lord Jupiter himself, _no matter what_. The only way he could speak of it would be if the gods revealed it first, or if one of the olympians or myself gave him express permission to do so."

They all quieted down after that. _No one_ went against Lord Jupiter; even if they _were_ still upset.

"Now you will be reading his story from a very important demigods' point of view."

Nico had a feeling he knew who this 'very important demigod' was. _This will be interesting._

"Now, I may send in some other demigods later. So be nice, or there _will_ be consequences." She said handing the book to Reyna.

"We will be watching. Have fun." She said as she flashed out.

"I guess I'll read first then." Reyna said opening the book.

 **We Take A Zebra To Vegas/We Find Out the Truth, Sort Of**

 **A/N: Pretend Hestia has talked to all the demigods I'm going to send in, like Frank, before they get there so they know what's going on. I kinda just threw Frank in there. Sorry about that.**


	2. TLT:Take A Zebra To Vegas-Truth, Sort Of

**All rights go to Rick Riordan.**

Prologue:

 **We Take A Zebra To Vegas**

 **We must have taken a wrong turn, because we found ourselves at a dead end, standing in front of the Lotus Hotel and Casino.**

"Oh no." Nico paled.

"What?" Jason asked.

"You'll see, just-don't ever go in there." Nico said mystifying the Romans.

 **The entrance was a huge neon flower, the petals lighting up and blinking. No one was going in or out,**

"Definitely not out." Nico whispered, but everyone heard him.

 _Why? What's wrong?_ They wondered.

 **But the glittering chrome doors were open, spilling out air-conditioning that smelled like flowers-lotus blossom, maybe. I'd never smelled one, so I wasn't sure.**

"Lucky you." Came Nico's sarcastic words.

"Seriously. What's up?" Gwen asked.

"Nothing."

 **The Doorman smiled at us. "Hey, kids. You look tired. You want to come in and sit down?"**

"No." Nico scowled unknowingly drawing shadows near causing people to scoot away in fear.

 **I'd learned to be suspicious, the last week or so. I figured anybody might be a monster or a god. You just couldn't tell. But this guy was normal.**

"Maybe he is but the place isn't." By now the Romans were getting frustrated. They wanted to know what was going on but Nico wouldn't tell them anything!

 **One look at him, and I could see.**

"He just said, 'You just couldn't tell.'" Dakota pointed out. Gwen hit his head.

 **Besides, I was so relieved to hear somebody who sounded sympathetic that I nodded and said we'd love to come in. Inside, we took one look around, and Grover said,**

 **"Whoa."**

"Yeah, whoa." Nico grouched.

 **The whole lobby was a giant game room. And I'm not talking about cheesy old Pac Man games or slot machines. There was an indoor waterslide snaking around the glass elevator, which went straight up at least forty floors. There was a climbing wall on the side of one building, and an indoor bungee-jumping bridge. There were virtual-reality suits with working laser guns. And hundreds of video games, each one the size of a widescreen TV. Basically, you name it, this place had it. There were a few other kids playing, but not that many. And no waiting for any of the games. There were waitresses and snack bars all around, serving every kind of food you can imagine.**

"Awesome!" People yelled.

" _Not_ awesome." Nico corrected.

"Why not? You're crazy!" Somebody yelled.

"Fine. You go. See you next century."

"What?"

"Nothing. Just ... trust me." That made the Romans pause. That _was_ the whole point of reading this book, but Nico wasn't even there yet. How would _he_ know?

"Fine."

Nico smiled a small smile surprising the Romans. _Maybe we_ were _wrong._ They thought grudgingly. _Maybe._ Whatever.

 **"Hey!" a bellhop said. At least I guessed he was a bellhop. He wore a white-and-yellow Hawaiian shirt with Lotus designs, shorts, and flip-flops. "Welcome to the Lotus Casino. Here's your room key."**

 **I stammered, "Um, but..."**

 **"No, no," he said, laughing. "The bill's taking care of. No extra charges, no tips. Just go on up to the top floor, room 400I. If you need anything, like extra bubbles for the hot tub, or skeet targets for the shooting range, or whatever, just call the front desk. Here are your Lotus Cash cards. They work in the restaurants and on the games and rides."**

"That was weird."

"Yeah. _Weird._ "

 **He handed us each a green plastic credit card.**

 **I knew there must be some mistake. Obviously he thought we were some millionaire's kids. But I took the card and said, "How much is on here?"**

 **His eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"**

 **"I mean, when does it run out of cash?"**

 **He laughed. "Oh, you're making a joke. Hey, that's cool. Enjoy your stay.""**

"What's going on?" Asked Frank.

"Read, and find out."

"You're starting to get really annoying."

Nico just shrugged.

 **We took the elevator upstairs and checked out our room. It was a suite with three separate bedrooms and a bar stocked with candy, sodas, and chips. A hotline to room service. Fluffy towels and water beds with feather pillows. A big-screen television with satellite and high-speed Internet. The balcony had its own hot tub, and sure enough, there was a skeet shooting machine and a shotgun, so you could launch clay pigeons right out over the Las Vegas skyline and plug them with your gun. I didn't see how that could be legal, but I thought it was pretty cool. The view over the Strip and the desert was amazing, though I doubted we'd ever find time to look at the view with a room like this.**

"Awesome! Come on, even if it is a trap you have to admit that's cool."

"It was pretty cool." Nico allowed. _Was? He was there?_ They thought he learned about the hotel from stories not actually being there! _No wonder he hates it so much. Wonder what happened._

 **"Oh, goodness," Annabeth said. "This place is..."**

 **"Sweet," Grover said. "Absolutely sweet."**

 **There were clothes in the closet, and they fit me. I found, thinking that this was a little strange.**

"But you didn't question it?" Jason asked.

"It was his first quest on his first year of being a demigod. Well, knowing at least." Nico defended.

"But wouldn't that be even more strange in the mortal world?" Jason pointed out.

"Depends."

"On..."

Nico just shrugged.

 **I threw Ares's backpack in the trash can.**

The Romans gasped.

"You don't throw away gifts from the gods!"

Nico just sighed.

"From what I understand he's always had problems with authority."

Reyna frowned. They didn't have room for rebels in New Rome.

 **Wouldn't need that anymore. When we left, I could just charge a new one at the hotel store.**

 **I took a shower, which felt awesome after a week of grimy travel. I changed clothes, ate a bag of chips, drank three cokes,**

"Pepsi's better!" Dakota exclaimed.

"No one cares," Gwen rolled her eyes.

"...and even if they did everyone knows Coke is the best."

Dakota looked at her scandalized and betrayed as Gwen stuck her tongue out at him.

 **and came out feeling better than I had in a long time. In the back of my mind, some small problem kept nagging me.**

"Yeah. Some _small_ problem." Nico said.

 **I'd had a dream or something...I needed to talk to my friends. But I was sure it could wait.**

"Knowing you probably not." Nico stated.

"Do you know who's thoughts we're reading?" Jason asked.

"I have a pretty good idea."

 **I came out of the bedroom and found the Annabeth and Grover had also showered and changed clothes. Grover was eating potato chips to his heart's content, while Annabeth cranked up the National Geographic Channel.**

 **"All those stations," I told her, "and you turn on National Geographic. Are you insane?"**

"Of course focus on _that_!" Nico yelled exasperated.

"All these little hints and clues that something is wrong, but no! Don't pay attention to those! Annoying Annabeth, that definitely takes precedent!"

"Are you okay?" Hazel asked.

" _Fine_. He just makes me so mad sometimes."

 **"It's interesting."**

 **"I feel good," Grover said. "I love this place."**

"Not for long you won't."

 **Without his even realizing it, the wings sprouted out of his shoes and lifted him a foot off the ground, then back down again.**

"Hey! How did they get a pair of dad's shoes!" The children of Mercury frowned.

 **"So what's now?" Annabeth asked. "Sleep?"**

"With them? Never."

"Nico! Stop randomly commenting unless you plan on explaining." Hazel commanded.

 **Grover and I looked at each other and grinned. We both held up our green plastic Lotus Cash cards.**

 **"Play time," I said.**

"Of course, " Frank rolled his eyes.

 **I couldn't remember the last time I had so much fun. I came from a relatively poor family. Our idea of a splurge was eating out at Burger King and renting a video. A five-star Vegas hotel? Forget it.**

"That's still fun." Someone said.

 **I bungee-jump the lobby five or six times, did the waterslide, snowboarded the artificial ski slope, and played virtual-reality laser tag and FBI sharpshooter. I saw Grover a few times, going from game to game. He really liked the reverse hunter thing-where the deer go out and shoot the rednecks.**

" _Satyrs._ " Nico mumbled. No one heard him.

 **I saw Annabeth playing trivia games and other brainiac stuff.**

 _Annabeth! You're supposed to be making sure Percy doesn't mess up! Not playing games!_ Nico mentally scolded.

 **They had this huge 3-D sim game where you build your own city, and you could actually see the holographic buildings rise on the display board. I didn't think much of it, but Annabeth loved it.**

Nico rolled his eyes. _Of course she did._

 **I'm not sure when I first realized something was wrong.**

 **Probably, it was when I noticed the guy standing next to me at the VR sharpshooters. He was about thirteen,**

 _Probably not._

 **I guess, but his clothes were weird. I thought he was some Elvis impersonator's son. He wore bell-bottom jeans and a red t-shirt with black piping, and his hair was permed and gelled like a New Jersey girls on homecoming night.**

"Ewwwwwww!" Someone shrieked.

"That is so last century!"

 _Venus kids._ Everyone thought.

 **We played a game of sharpshooters together and he said, "Groovy, man. Been here 2 weeks, and the games keep getting better and better."**

"What?"

 _Finally!_

 **"** _ **Groovy?"**_

"Exactly!"

 **Later while we were talking, I said something was "sick," and he looked at me kind of startled, as if he'd never heard the word used that way before.**

 _Probably not._

"Weird."

 **"He said his name was Darrin, but as soon as I started asking him questions he got bored with me and started to go back to the computer screen.**

 **I said, "Hey, Darrin?"**

 **"What?"**

 **"What year is it?"**

 **He frowned at me. "In the game?"**

 **"No. In real life."**

 **He had to think about it. "1977."**

 **"No," I said, getting a little scared. "Really."**

 **"Hey, man. Bad vibes. I got a game happening."**

 **After that he totally ignored me.**

"Is he serious? This is from our time right?" A person asked.

"Yes to both. Just listen." Nico answered.

 **I started talking to people, and found it wasn't easy. They were glued to the TV screen, or the video games, or their food, or whatever. I found a guy who told me it was 1985. Another guy told me it was 1993. They all claimed they hadn't been in here for very long, a few days, a few weeks at most. They didn't know and they didn't care.**

"Ok _what_ is going on?!" Dakota freaked.

"Wait." Nico was really starting to annoy the Romans.

 **Then it occurred to me: how long had I been here? It seemed only a couple of hours, but was it?**

 _'Bout time! Get out Percy!_

 **I tried to remember why we were here. We were going to Los Angeles we were supposed to find the entrance to the Underworld.**

"What?!" The Romans screamed.

"What's wrong with the Underworld?" Nico an eyebrow.

"Nothing!" They said hastily.

"Hmph. Whatever."

 **My mother...for a scary second, I had trouble remembering her name. Sally. Sally Jackson.**

"What? I thought this was in Nico's point of view." Reyna interrupted herself.

"No. I think this is my cousin's' point of view." Nico guessed.

"Then what does it have to do with you if you're not there?" Jason wondered.

"Just because he didn't see me, or know me yet, doesn't mean I wasn't there" Nico said.

"You make it sound so creepy." Dakota mumbled.

"Not back then."

"What?"

"Well I wasn't always like this."

"You weren't?"

" _No!_ " Nico snapped.

"What were you like before?"

Nico turned red. "Nothing. You'll see."

"What happened?"

"I'm guessing that's what we're going to find out in the book if you would let me finish Dakota!" Reyna said.

"Fine."

 _Thank gods for her._ Nico thought. _I wonder if I was like that. I hope not. Question after question? That's just annoying._

 **I had to find her. I had to stop Hades from causing World War III.**

Everyone looked at Nico who just shrugged.

"I didn't know yet."

 **I found Annabeth still building her city.**

 **"Come on," I told her. We've got to get out of here."**

 **No response.**

 **"I shook her. Annabeth?"**

 **She looked up, annoyed. "What?"**

 **"We need to leave."**

 **"Leave? What are you talking about? I've just got the towers-"**

"Yes _leave._ Do it right _no_ w!"

"Geez no need to scream in my ear!"

"OW! Hypocrite."

 _Flick!_

"Ow! Ok sorry."

 _Smirk._

 **"This place is a trap."**

 **She didn't respond until shook I her again. "What?"**

 **"Listen. The Underworld. Our quest!"**

 **"Oh, come on, Percy. Just a few more minutes."**

 **"Annabeth, there are people here from 1977. Kids who have never aged. You check in, and you stay forever!"**

"Wow."

"Wait a minute. Nico, didn't you say you were in there to?" Jason asked. Nico nodded.

"How long were you in there?" Hazel asked.

Nico shook his head.

"I'm sure you'll find out later in the book. Besides it was only a few years."

"Years!?"

Nico just nodded and then went silent, leaving the Romans to think about what else they didn't know about Nico and how many of their assumptions and judgementations were wrong **.**

 **"So?" she asked. "Can you imagine a better place?"**

"Yes, at camp. At _home?!_ "

 **I grabbed her wrist and yanked her away from the game.**

 **"Hey!" She screamed and hit me, but nobody else even bothered looking at us. They were too busy.**

 **I made her look directly in my eyes. I said, "Spiders. Large, hairy spiders.**

 **That jarred her.**

"Finally!" Someone screamed.

"Must be a child of Minerva." Sometime else concluded.

"Athena." Nico corrected them.

"Didn't she swear to be a maiden forever?" Jason asked. "That's a serious vow to break."

Many of the Romans nodded.

"She didn't break it." Nico defended.

"Then how do you explain all her children? She has disgraced herself." Reyna said angrily.

"They're concern of thought." Nico said testily. "They pop out of her head, when she thinks deeply about someone she loves or respects, much like how she popped out of Zeus's head after he ate Metis."

The Romans looked shocked at the revelation, taking time to collect their thoughts they continued reading.

 **Her vision cleared. "Oh my gods," she said. "How long have we-"**

 **"I don't know, but we've got to find Grover."**

 **We went searching, and found him still playing Virtual Deer Hunter.**

 **"Grover!" we both shouted.**

 **He said, "Die, human! Die, silly polluting nasty person!"**

Everyone was laughing.

 **"Grover!"**

 **He turned the plastic gun on me and started cooking, as if I were just another image from the screen.**

They laughed even harder at that.

 **I looked at Annabeth, and we took Grover by the arms and dragged him away. His flying shoes spring to life and started talking his legs in the other direction as he shouted, "No! I just got to a new level! No!"**

"So dramatic!" Nico laughed. This was the first time the Romans had seen him laugh. It was nice. Sometimes they forgot he was just a kid to.

 **The Lotus bellhop hurried up to us. "Well, now, are you ready for your platinum cards?"**

 **"We are leaving," I told him.**

 **"Such a shame," he said, and I got the feeling that he really meant it, that we'd be breaking his heart if we went. "We just added an entire new floor full of games for platinum-card members."**

 **He held out the cards, and I wanted one.**

"No!"

 **I knew that if I took one, I did never leave. I'd stay here, happy forever, playing games forever, and soon I'd forget my mom, and my quest, and maybe even my own name. I'd be playing virtual rifleman with groovy Disco Darrin forever.**

People shivered.

 **Grover reached for the card, but Annabeth yanked back his arm and said, "No, thanks."**

 **We walked toward the door, and as we did, the smell of the food and the sounds of the games seemed to get more and more inviting. I thought about our room upstairs. We could just stay the night, sleep in a real bed for once…**

"Don't!"

 **Then we burst through the doors of the Lotus Casino and ran down the sidewalk. It felt like afternoon, about the same time of day we'd gone into the casino, but something was wrong. The weather had completely changed. It was stormy, with heat lightning flashing out in the desert.**

"Oh no." Hazel whispered.

 **Ares's backpack was slung over my shoulder, which was odd, because I was sure I had thrown it in the trash can in the room 400I, but at the moment I had other problems to worry about.**

"Yes you do." Frank interjected.

 **I ran to the nearest newspaper stand and read the year first. Thank the gods, it was the same year it had been when we went in.**

"Phew." People sighed.

 **Then I noticed the date: June twentieth.**

 **We had been in the Lotus casino for five days. We had only one day left until the summer solstice. One day to complete our quest.**

"At least it was the same _year._ " Nico said.

 _POP!_

A note fluttered down. Reyna picked it up.

—-—-—-—-—-—

Dear Demigods,

This next part does not involve Nico either, but it is important you understand. My brother is often misunderstood as well as his children.

\- Sincerely Vesta/Hestia

—-—-—-—-—-—

"Ok, let's finish this section." Reyna began to read again.

 **We Find Out The Truth, Sort Of**

 _Skipping Some Pages._

 **Doors burst open all along the walls, and skeletal warriors marched in, hundreds of them, from every time period and nation in Western civilization. They lined the perimeter of the room, blocking the exits.**

 **Hades bellowed, "Do you think I** _ **want**_ **war godling?"**

"Yes." Someone muttered. Nico glared at them.

 **I wanted to say,** _ **well, these guys don't look like peace activists.**_ **But I thought that might be a dangerous answer.**

"No shi-"

"Nico!"

He just rolled his eyes.

" **You're the Lord of the Dead," I said carefully. "A war would expand your kingdom, right!"**

 _Exactly_ everyone thought but no one dared say it by the look on Nico's face. It was as if he was daring them to say something.

 **"A typical thing for my brothers to say! Do you think I need more subjects? Did you not see the sprawl of the Asphodel Fields?"**

The Romans were taken aback.

 **"Well..."**

 **"Have you any idea how much my kingdom has swollen in this past century alone, how many subdivisions I've had to open?"**

The Romans were not expecting that.

 **I opened my mouth to respond, but Hades was on a roll now.**

 **"More security ghouls," he moaned. "Traffic problems at the judgment pavilion. Double overtime for the staff. I used to be a rich god, Percy Jackson.**

"Finally! A name!" Dakota crowed.

Everyone glared at him.

"Sorry. Sorry." He held his hands up splashing some Kool-Aid on Gwen, who just glared even harder.

 **I control all the precious metals under the earth. But my expenses!"**

 **"Charon wants a pay raise," I blurted, just remembering the fact.**

Nico face-palmed.

"So, not the time Perce."

 **As soon as I said it, I wished** **I could sew up my mouth.**

"That'd be good too." Nico said to the still shocked/confused Romans.

 **"Don't get me started on Charon!" Hades yelled. "He's been impossible ever since he discovered Italian suits! Problems everywhere, and I've got to handle all of them personally. The commute time alone from the palace to the gates is enough to drive me insane! And the dead and just keep arriving.** _ **N**_ **o, godling. I need no help getting subjects.** _ **I**_ **did not ask for this war."**

 _Skipping Sentences._

 **"You took the master bolt** _ **and**_ **my helm."**

The Romans gasped.

 **Annabeth spoke. I could tell her mind was going a million miles an hour. "Lord Hades, your helm of darkness is missing, too?"**

 **"I have said nothing of the Helms disappearance," Hades snarled, "because I had no illusions that anyone on Olympus would offer me the slightest justice, the slightest help. I can ill afford for word to get out that my most powerful weapon of fear is missing. So I searched for you myself."**

Some of the Romans were starting to feel bad about judging Hades. While others have different ideas. One in particular.

"He has to be lying. There's no way Hades is evil." He said. Nico stood up.

"My Dad is _not_ evil! He's misunderstood. People think Hades is evil because they're afraid of death. But without death there isn't a balance. Life means nothing if it goes on forever. If you want to be happy you need to have things in your life worth dying for. If you live forever nothing will ever change. Except people will keep being born every day, every night, every minute, people will keep being born in the world and it will overpopulate. People would turn against each other fighting over space; killing everything in their path. Earth would be a war zone. Destruction would be everywhere and it would be eternal. Blood would be on the hands of everybody and we would descend into chaos. People are scared of death because they don't understand what would happen if they lived forever. They don't want to leave their loved ones. But it's something that has to be done. I thought Romans weren't afraid of anything. They're supposed to be Proud, Strong, And Smart. If you can tell me one good reason why my dad is perceived to be evil please tell me."

The Romans looked down. So Nico continued.

"My dad was banished to the underworld because juice is too scared of the power that he has. But my dad never tried to take over Olympus ever. He's bitter because he was banished for no reason. Right out of the stomach of his father and right into another place full of fear and blood never able to come out without the permission of his family who abandoned him in first place. Family is supposed to be there for each other. The gods may be related to each other and they may be related to us but we are a _long_ ways away from being a family. Don't judge people by what you hear. Listen to their side of the story too, _before_ you make assumptions."

The Romans flinched under his glare.

"My Dad isn't the only misunderstood God either. What about Apollo? He's the God of _prophecies_ and _knowledge_! He can see all the wrong with the world. Imagine knowing when every one of your children is going to die. Watching all the wars before they happen. Knowing when your best friend and your family is going to fade. Apollo acts like he does, so that he doesn't give in to misery."

The Sun shone brighter as if agreeing with Nico and the Romans looked down never have thinking about that.

"Same goes for Aphrodite. She can feel every heartbreak, every break up, every single sad moment in a relationship. Over half of the relationships in the world end in misery. She just has her own way of coping."

Nico looked around, pausing to catch his breath.

"Hera, I can't believe I'm defending her, has a similar situation. People think she's bitter because she hates demigods. But I think she has a right to. Watching your husband be disloyal to you for millennia over millennia well being the goddess of _marriage_ would be really hard. All the divorces and half the stuff Aphrodite feels as well. Don't presume to know something you know nothing about." Nico finished as he sat down looking straight forward.

"Continue please."

 **I Settle My Tab**

 _Skipping Stuff._

 **My trip through Olympus was a daze.**

No one said anything about him being on Olympus still feeling a little guilty about Nico's rant.

 _Skipping Sentences._

 **I climbed the main road, toward the big palace at. It was a reverse copy of the palace in the Underworld. There, everything has been black and bronze. Here, everything glittered white and silver.**

 **I realized Hades must have built his palace to resemble this one. He wasn't welcomed in Olympus except on the winter solstice, so he built his own Olympus underground. Despite my bad experience with him, I felt a little sorry for the guy. To be banished from this place seemed really unfair. It would make anybody bitter.**

"-That's it" Reyna finished.

The Romans were still down. Especially about the part where he said they were _supposed_ to be strong and smart.

"I think you should read the next chapter to. We can each read two at a time." Nico suggested. "Don't worry about what I said. I only know one other human or demigod who figured it out on their own."

"Who?" Hazel asked.

"My cousin. The one who's point of view were reading from. His name is Percy. He's really good at reading people and keeping secrets. He's a really good friend and very understanding. Forgave me for a lot of stuff." Nico mumbled that last part. "He figured it out all by himself because he sees the best in people and understands. But don't _ever_ tell him I said that!"

Hazel laughed. It was like her mood was contagious. Suddenly all the Romans felt a little better.

"Okay, let's continue reading." Frank suggested.

"Okay." Reyna said.

 **My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong**


	3. A-N

I'm so sorry, I lost my book. I wrote a little before I lost it, but not much. I'll post that next.


	4. TTC: My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong

**I own nothing all rights go to Rick Riordan.**

 **My Rescue Operation Goes Very Wrong**

 **The Friday before winter break, my mom packed me an overnight bag and a few deadly weapons and took me to a new boarding school. We picked up my friends Annabeth and Thalia on the way.**

"Do you know them Nico?" Asked Hazel

"Yes. Thalia is a daughter of Zeus or Jupiter, Annabeth is the daughter of Athena or Minerva from the last chapter, and Percy, the person whose point of view were reading from, is a son of Poseidon. And _they_ are some of the only people who don't treat me differently and a few of my _only_ friends." Nico said putting emphasis on they and only making the Romans feel a little guilty.

 **It was an eight-hour drive from New York to Bar Harbor, Maine. Sleet and snow pounded the highway. Annabeth, Thalia, and I hadn't seen each other in months, but between the blizzard and the thought of what we're about to do we were too nervous to talk much. Except for my mom. She talks** _ **more**_ **when she's nervous. By the time we finally got to Westover Hall, it was getting dark, and she'd told Annabeth and Thalia every embarrassing baby story there was to tell about me.**

A few people snickered. _Moms._

 **Thalia wiped the fog off the car window and peered outside. "Oh, yeah. This'll be fun."**

"Ah, sarcasm."

 **Westover Hall looked like an evil knight's castle. It was all black stone, with towers and slit windows and a big set of wooden double doors. It stood on a snowy cliff over-looking this big frosty forest on one side and the gray churning ocean on the other.**

"That sounds nice." an unidentified voice said sarcastically.

 **"Are you sure you don't want me to wait?" my mother asked.**

 **"No, thanks, Mom," I said. "I don't know how long it will take. We'll be okay."**

 **"But how will you get back? I'm worried, Percy."**

 **I hoped I wasn't blushing.**

"Probably was." Nico said

 **It was bad enough I had to depend on my mom to drive me to my battles.**

Some people snickered.

 **"It's okay, Ms. Jackson." Annabeth smiled reassuringly. Her blonde hair was tucked into a ski cap and her grey eyes were the same color as the ocean. "We'll keep him out of trouble."**

 **My mom seemed to relax a little. She thinks Annabeth is the most level headed demigod ever to hit eighth grade. She's sure Annabeth often keeps me from getting killed.**

"She does," Nico stated. "On like a bi-weekly basis."

"Bi-weekly?" Hazel inquired.

Nico shrugged.

 **She's right, but that doesn't mean I have to like it.**

Everyone laughed. People still looked at Nico weirdly only having seen him laugh once before. He just brushed it off. It was their fault.

 **"Alright, dears," my mom said. "do you have everything you need?"**

 **"Yes, Ms. Jackson," Thalia said. "Thanks for the ride."**

 **"Extra sweaters? You have my cell phone number?"**

Everyone laughed again.

 **"Mom-"**

 **"Your ambrosia and nectar, Percy? And a golden drachma in case you need to contact camp?"**

 **"Mom, seriously! We'll be fine. Come on, guys."**

 **She looked a little hurt,**

"Don't be mean to your mother she's just trying to help." Gwen said

 **and I was sorry about that,**

"Good."

 **but I was ready to get out of that car.**

"Humph"

"Oh, calm down Gwendolyn." Dakota slurred.

"It's Gwen!"

 **If my mom told one more story about how cute I looked in the bathtub when I was three years old,**

Everyone laughed.

 **I was going to burrow into the snow and freeze myself to death.**

Now they laughed harder.

 **Annabeth and Thalia followed me outside. The wind blew straight through my coat like ice daggers.**

 **Once my mother's car was out of sight, Thalia said, "Your mom is so cool, Percy."**

 **"She's pretty okay," I admitted. "What about you? You ever get in touch with your mom?"**

"Oooh bad topic Perce." Nico sympathized.

 **As soon as I said it, I wished I hadn't. Thalia was great at giving evil looks, what with the punk clothes she always wears-the ripped-up army jacket, black leather pants and chain jewelry, the black eyeliner and those intense blue eyes. But the look she gave me now was a perfect evil "ten." "If that was any of your business, Percy-"**

 **"We'd better get inside," Annabeth interrupted. "Grover will be waiting."**

"That went better than expected." Nico said surprised.

 _This is a different section in the chapter._

 **"So what's the emergency?" I asked**

 **Grover took a deep breath. "I found two."**

 **"Two half-bloods?" Thalia asked, amazed. "Here?"**

"No. Two goats in Alaska." Nico said sarcastically earning a few stares as he usually didn't talk at all, let alone use sarcasm. Excluding his outburst last chapter.

 **Grover nodded.**

 **Finding one half-blood was rare enough. This year Chiron-"**

"Wait, 'Chiron'. Like _The Chiron_ trainer of Hercules and other great heroes!?"

"Heracles. Yes."

( _A.N. I know in the book it says Hercules but the Greek version is technically Heracles because he was named after Hera who is Greek but the Romans changed it to Hercules because Hera is not a Roman goddess her Roman form as you know is Juno, and Junocles sounds pretty stupid.)_

"Humph."

 **"had put all the Satyrs on the emergency overtime and sent them all over the country, scouring school from fourth grade through high school for possible recruits. These were desperate times. We were losing campers. We needed all the new fighters we could find. The problem was, there just weren't that many demigods out there."**

"He is so pessimistic," someone said.

"He calls it realistic," Nico corrected.

 **"A brother and sister,"**

"Sister?" Someone asked assuming the brother was Nico.

"Yeah."

The sad look on Nico's face persuaded them not to push any further.

 **he said. "They're ten and twelve. I don't know their parentage, but they're strong. We're running out of time, though. I need help."**

 **"Monsters?"**

 **"One." Grover looked nervous. "He suspects. I don't think he's positive yet, but this is the last day of term. I'm sure he won't let them leave campus without finding out. It may be our last chance! Everytime I try to get close to them, he's always there, blocking me. I don't know what to do!"**

 _Skipping Some Sentences._

 **Thalia had more experience than any of us fending off monsters in the real world.**

 **"Right," she said "These half-bloods are at the dance?"**

 **Grover nodded.**

 **"Then let's dance," Thalia said. "Who's the monster?"**

 **"Oh," Grover said, and looks around nervously. "You just met him. He's the Vice Principal, Dr. Thorn."**

"Who?" Jason asked

"I think Lady Hestia is skipping over parts that don't have direct contact to my future to get to the point faster." Nico explained

 **Weird thing about military schools: the kids go absolutely nuts when there's a special event and they get to be out of uniform. I guess it's because everything's so strict the rest of the time, they feel like they've got to overcompensate or something.**

"Wow Perce! I didn't know you knew such a big word." Nico said.

"Don't be mean!" Hazel reprimanded "Do you even know what it means?"

"Uh 'course I do."

"Really? Please enlighten us because I don't think Dakota is smart enough to know what it means." Gwen continued.

"HEY!"

"Ummmmm it means toooo…"Nico trailed off.

"Exactly." Hazel proved.

"Well then what does it mean?"

"It means to take excessive measures in attempt to fix or amend a problem."

"Smart Alec."

"What?"

"Nothing"

"Good. Continue."

 _Skipping A Paragraph._

" **There they are." Grover nodded toward a couple of younger kids arguing in the bleachers. "Bianca and Nico di Angelo."**

"Who's Bianca? There's another child of Pluto?" Someone asked.

"Hades, and there was." Nico replied.

"Was?"

"Yes." Nobody dared to question him any farther.

 **The girl wore a floppy green hat, like she was trying to hide her face. The boy was obviously her little brother. They both had dark silky hair and olive skin, and they used their hands a lot as they talked.**

Everyone nodded. Quite a few people had been hit in the face when Nico tried to explain things.

 **"The boy was shuffling some kind of trading cards."**

"Of course that's going to be in here." Nico groaned. Subconsciously taking his Myth-o-Magic cards out of his pocket and shuffling them.

"Why do you care? What are those cards?" Hazel asked.

"Nothing. I wasn't always...like this" Nico said "I actually used to be really annoying and hyper… according to other people." The Romans looked surprised.

"What happened?" Gwen asked.

"None of your business." Nico snapped. They backed off.

 **His sister seem to be scolding him about something.**

Nico smirked earning some weird looks.

 **She kept looking around like she sensed something wrong.**

 **Annabeth said, "Do they... I mean, have you told them?"**

 **Grover shook his head. "You know how it is. That could put them in more danger. Once they realize who they are, their scent becomes stronger."**

 **"So let's grab them and get out of here," I said**

 **I started forward but, Thalia put her hand on my shoulder.**

"For once they should have listened to Percy." Nico informed.

 **The vice principal, Dr. Thorn had slipped out of a doorway near the bleachers and was standing near the di Angelo siblings. He nodded cool in our direction. His blue eye seemed to glow.**

 _Skipping Some Stuff._

 **"Don't look at the kids," Thalia ordered."We have to wait for a chance to get them. We need to pretend we're not interested in them. Throw him off the scent."**

"Bossy." Someone snorted.

"That's Thalia." Nico deadpanned.

 **"How?"**

 **"We're three powerful half bloods.**

"Three? Aren't there four of them?" Frank asked.

"Yeah, Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, and Grover." Jason recounted.

"Grover is a satyr. In the Greek camp satyrs are sent to find demigods all over the country." Nico told them. _Why aren't the fauns that helpful_ they thought.

 **Our presents should confuse him. Mingle. Act natural. Do some dancing. But keep an eye on those kids."**

 **"Dancing?" Annabeth asked.**

 **Thalia nodded. She cocked her ear to the music and made a face. "Ugh. Who chose Jesse McCartney?"**

"Hey I like Jesse McCartney!" Some Apollo kids yelled.

 **Grover looked hurt. "I did."**

"Yeah. Go Grover." The same Apollo kids yelled.

 **"Oh, my gods Grover. That is so lame."**

Half the Apollo kids were really not liking Thalia right now.

 **"Can't you play, like, Green Day or something?"**

"Yes!" The other half of the Apollo campers yelled.

 **"Green who?"**

"Booooo!"

 **"Never mind. Let's dance."**

 **"But I can't dance!"**

 **"You can if I am leading," Thalia said. "Come on, goat boy."**

 **Grover yelped as Thalia grabbed his hand and led him onto the dance floor.**

 **Annabeth smiled.**

 _This is a different part in the chapter._

 **"Hey!" Thalia called to us. She was slow dancing with Grover, who was tripping all over himself, kicking Thalia in the shins, and looking like he wanted to die. At least his feet were fake. Unlike me, he had an excuse for being clumsy."**

Everyone laughed.

 **"Dance, you guys!" Thalia ordered."You look stupid just standing there."**

"Or period." Nico muttered.

Hazel hit him upside the head.

"Ow!"

"Be nice!"

"Yes _mom._ " Nico rolled his eyes.

 **I looked nervously at Annabeth, then at the group of girls who were roaming the gym.**

 **"Well?" Annabeth said.**

 **"Um, who should I ask?"**

"Oh My God! He Did _NOT_ Just Ask That!?" Gwen screeched.

"There's a reason we call him 'Seaweed Brain' and 'Kelp Head'. They took 4 _Years_ to finally get together!" Nico replied.

"Really!? I don't even know them and I can already tell!"

"Like I said. There's a reason."

 **She punched me in the gut. "** _ **Me**_ **, Seaweed Brain."**

"Told you."

 **"Oh. Oh, right."**

"Wow. Just ... wow." Gwen said shaking her head with some of the Venus kids.

 **So we went onto the dance floor, and I looked over to see how Thalia and Grover were doing things. I put one hand on Annabeth's hip, and she clasped my other hand like she was about to judo throw me.**

"She might."

 **"I'm not going to bite," she told me.**

"No, but apparently you do judo flip people." Frank said. People jumped. He'd been awfully quiet.

 **"Honestly, Percy. Don't you guys have dances at your school?"**

"That's what I was thinking." Jason said. People jumped _again._ Geez people need to speak up!

 **I didn't answer. The truth was we did.**

"I knew it!" Jason exclaimed.

 **But I'd never, like, actually** _ **danced**_ **at one. I was usually one of the guys playing basketball in the corner.**

"Of course you were." Nico said as he rolled his eyes.

 **We shuffled around for a few minutes. I tried to concentrate on the little things, like the crepe-paper streamers and the punchbowl- anything but the fact that Annabeth was taller than me, and my hands were sweaty and probably gross, and I kept stepping on her toes.**

 _This is a different part in the chapter._

 **Suddenly she froze. "They're gone."**

"About time you noticed." Nico muttered.

"Why? What happened?" Hazel asked worried.

"Nothing. Hazel it's fine." Nico said surprised she heard him.

 **"What?"**

 **I followed her gaze. The bleachers. The two half-blood kids, Bianca and Nico, were no longer there. The door next to the bleachers was wide open. Dr. Thorn was nowhere in sight.**

 **"We have to get Thalia and Grover!" Annabeth looked around frantically. "Oh, where'd they dance off to? Come on!"**

 **She ran through the crowd.**

"No, don't leave him alone!" Nico screeched.

"She can't hear you." Frank pointed out.

"Whatever."

 _Skipping Sentences._

 **Annabeth had disappeared.**

"Of course she did." Nico grumbled.

 **I turned a full circle, looking for her or Thalia and Grover. Instead, I saw something that chilled my blood.**

 **About fifty feet away, lying on the gym floor, was a floppy green cap just like the one Bianca di Angelo had been wearing. Near it were a few scattered trading cards. Then I caught a glimpse of Dr. Thorn. He was hurrying out a door at the opposite end of the gym, steering the di Angelo kids by the scruffs of their necks, like kittens."**

"I'm not like a kitten!" Nico yelled making everyone jump.

 _Skipping Sentences._

 **The di Angelos were in danger. They might be long gone by the time I found my friends. I knew monsters. I could handle this myself.**

 **I took Riptide out of my pocket and ran after Dr. Thorn.**

"Idiot." Nico said. Hazel slapped him.

 _Skipping Stuff._

 **I opened a door and found myself back in the main entry hall. I was completely turned around. I didn't see Dr. Thorn anywhere, but there on the opposite side of the room were the di Angelo kids. They stood frozen in horror, staring right at me."**

"No we were staring _behind_ you." Nico corrected.

 **I advanced slowly, lowering the tip of my sword. "It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." They didn't answer. Their eyes were full of fear.**

 _Skipping Sentences._

 **"My name's Percy," I said, trying to keep my voice level. "I'm going to take you out of here, get you somewhere safe."**

 **Bianca's eyes widened. Her fists clenched. Only too late did I realize what her look meant. She wasn't afraid of me. She was trying to warn me.**

"You finally figured it out!" Nico exclaimed.

"Took you long enough."

 **I whirled around and something went** _ **WHIIISH!**_

" _WHIIISH_? Very descriptive."

 **Pain exploded in my shoulder. A force like a huge hand yanked me backwards and slammed me to the wall.**

 **I slashed with my sword but there was nothing to hit.**

 **A cold laugh echoed through the hall.**

 **"Yes, Perseus** _ **Jackson**_ **," Dr. Thorn said. His accent mangled the** _ **J**_ **in my last name. "I know who you ate."**

"Well that's not creepy." Dakota slurred.

 **I tried to free my shoulder. My coat and shirt were pinned to the wall by some kind of spike-a black dagger-like projectile about a foot long. It had grazed the skin of my shoulder as it passed through my clothes, and the cut burned. I'd felt something like this before. Poison.**

 **I forced myself to concentrate. I would** _ **not**_ **pass out.**

"Good job buddy!" Dakota said. People were starting to get worried.

 **A dark silhouette now move toward us. Dr. Thorn stepped into the dim light. He still looked human, but his face was ghoulish. He had perfect white teeth and his brown/blue eyes reflected the light of my sword.**

 **"Thank you for coming out of the gym," he said. "I hate middle school dances."**

"Random."

 **I tried to swing my sword again, but he was just out of reach.**

 _ **WHIIIISH!**_ **A second projectile shot from somewhere behind Dr. Thorn. He didn't appear to move. It was as if someone invisible were standing behind him, throwing knives.**

 _Hmmmm, what_ is _he?_ The Romans thought.

 **Next to me, Bianca yelped. The second thorn impaled itself in the stone wall, half an inch from her face.**

Nico scowled deeply.

 **All three of you will come with me," Dr. Thorn said. "Quietly. Obediently. If you make a single noise, if you call out for help or try to fight, I will show you just how accurately I can throw.**

" **-** Done." Reyna said.

Just as she did a fire erupted on the field.


	5. TTC: V Principal Gets A Missile Launcher

**I own nothing Rick Riordan owns it all.**

Everyone was screaming and fire grew until it was covering everything in the clearing. Suddenly it stopped and started retreating leaving everything unharmed. When it was gone there stood Percy.

"Percy!" Nico shouted in recognition so the Romans wouldn't attack.

"Nico!" Percy exclaimed hugging his 'little' cousin. "Hey, I heard we were reading and I was like no way! But then you were here and Hestia explained everything. Speaking of which you have a surprise next chapter who I already spoke/apologized to. Anyway so I came. Now," He cleared his throat. "WHAT HAVE I TOLD YOU! YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE FOR MONTHS WITHOUT TELLING ANYONE! WE WERE WORRIED ABOUT YOU!"

Nico flinched. The Romans were surprised at the outburst. Percy gave off a calm, friendly aura.

"Uuuuhhhhh... Sorry?" Percy glared at Nico.

"Um, hi. My name's Jason Grace son of Jupiter. This is Re–" Jason started while Percy gave Nico a _we'll talk about this later_ look.

"Grace? Jupiter? Like roman form of Zeus right?" Percy asked.

"Yeah, why?"

"Oh, Nico. You are in _so_ much trouble." Percy sang.

"Why?" Nico asked.

"Really?" Percy asked.

"Who do you know who also just so happens to be a child of the king of the gods with the last name Grace? Who also the day before you left told you that she had a missing little brother?"

"Wait. Her last name is _Grace._ "

"Yep, and she's going to _kill_ you now." Nico paled.

"Oh Shit."

"Um what are you talking about?" Asked Jason. Voicing the thoughts of all the Romans. Percy turned to him still smiling.

"Well Jason I was just about to help my little cousin plan his funeral." Percy replied.

"It isn't my fault! I didn't know!" Nico defended.

"You're telling me like I'm the one who's going to kill you for it. No, she'll be here soon though. Then you'll have to face her wrath for hiding _two_ things. You know she's never been the most… understanding person."

"Excuse me, but who are you talking about?" Jason asks getting irritated.

"My other cousin. Her name is Thalia Grace daughter of Zeus . . . Your full sister." Percy replied.

"My…? You mean half-sister?"

"No. Full sister. As in the same mom, same dad. Well same being as a dad, different aspects. . . I'm still working on that part. Anyway she said she lost you when you were two and you had a scar on your lips from trying to eat a stapler." Percy said the last part trying not to laugh. Jason's hand went to his mouth but he still looked confused/suspicious.

"C'mon you really don't remember? Try to picture her. She has short spiky black hair and sort-of punk style clothes when she's not in her hunters uniform."

Jason tried to picture it. As he thought just the faintest memory came into his mind of a girl with piercing blue eyes taking care of him while his mother was gone.

"Y-yeah and blue eyes." He added.

"That's her!" Percy exclaimed.

The Romans just watched in bewilderment. Apparently their praetor had a sister he could never remember who apparently looks nothing alike except for their eyes.

"So, that girl in the last chapter was my sister?" Jason turned to Nico.

"Apparently, and-" Nico was interrupted by his aquatic cousin.

"Anyway she's pretty scary when she's mad, and her powers are directly linked to her emotions. She doesn't have the best control for them when she's upset. So I was just telling Nico about how much trouble he was in with her." Percy said cheerily.

"It'll be fun to watch."

"You're not going to help me!?" Nico asked.

"Nope. Why should I?" Percy replied.

"Because it wasn't my fault!"

"So. Tell that to Thalia."

"That won't help!"

"Good luck then."

"Percy!"

"Alright I'll help you.…maybe."

" _Percy!_ "

"We'll see. If your nice."

"That's not fair."

"It's better than a flat out no."

"Fine."

The Romans didn't know what to do they never seen this side of Nico before.

"Let's just read it will be explained when Thalia gets here and Nico dies." Percy said.

"Hey! I'm not scared of Thalia. I can beat her!" Nico exclaimed.

"I'll tell her you said that." Percy said smirking. Nico paled.

"Please don't."

"Maybe." Percy smirked again. Nico groaned.

"Your mean."

"Says you."

"Whatever let's just start reading. Who wants to read now?" Nico asked.

"I will." Gwen said.

 **The Vice Principal Gets A Missile Launcher**

 _Skipping Some Sentences._

 **Thorn marched us into the woods. We took a snowy path dimly lit by old-fashioned lamplights. My shoulder ached. The wind blowing through my ripped clothes was so cold that I felt like a Percysicle.**

"Wait, when Hestia said we were reading about you she didn't say we would be reading it from _my_ point of view!" Percy exclaimed.

"Yup. Haha." Nico laughed at his misfortune.

"Oh, laugh it up. It's still about you, you know." Percy smirked.

Nico scowled at the reminder.

 **"There is a clearing ahead," Thorn said. "We will summon your ride."**

 **"What ride?" Bianca demanded. "Where are you taking us?"**

 **"Silence, you insufferable girl!"**

Nico scowled deeper drawing in the shadows.

 **"Don't talk to my sister that way!" Nico said. His voice quivered, but I was impressed that he had the guts to say anything at all.**

"Wow. I don't know whether to thank you or be offended." Nico stated.

"I don't know either." Percy replied.

"But, these are _your_ thoughts." Frank said confused.

"It's OK Frank. Nobody can understand what happens in Percy's head." Nico explained.

"Hey!"

"You know it's true. Not even _you_ know!"

"Whatever."

The Romans just watched in curiosity as they learned this new side to Nico.

 _Skipping Stuff._

 **The woods had opened up. We'd reached a cliff overlooking the sea. At least, I** _ **sensed**_ **the sea was down there, hundreds of feet below. I could hear the waves churning and I could smell the cold salty froth. But all I could see was mist and darkness.**

"Sounds creepy." Dakota mumbled.

"It was." Percy said.

"Was not." Nico argued.

"Your face said otherwise. You looked pretty scared."

"Was not."

"Whatever you say Nico. Just wait."

 **Dr. Thorn pushed us toward the edge. I stumbled, and Bianca caught me.**

 **"Thanks," I murmured.**

 **"What** _ **is**_ **he?" She whispered. "How do we fight him?"**

 **"I…I'm working on it."**

"Great job with that Perce. Don't strain yourself."

"Shut up di Angelo." Percy shoved Nico.

 **"I'm scared," Nico mumbled.**

"I'm sorry what were you saying Nico? The almighty Ghost King, Son of Hades was scared?"

"Shove off Jackson."

"Hey that is not how you get people to help you with zap happy cousins."

"Are you blackmailing me?!"

"So what if I am?" Percy challenged.

"I will get you for this. Watch your back."

"Yeah right I could take you in my sleep."

"Hey that was one time a long time ago and I was trying to help you."

"Yeah afterwards."

"I said I was sorry." Nico grumbled.

"Uh-huh whatever.…I'm just messing with you jeez lighten up Nico."

"Whatever."

"Awww, is Nico sulking?"

"I don't sulk."

"Yeah just like your _not_ goth."

"I'm not!"

"Or you don't spend more time with the dead than the living."

"At least I talk to _people_ even if they're dead. You spend most of your time talking to fish and horses."

"That is when you actually talk."

"I talk!"

"Yeah from the farthest corner in the room so no one hears you."

"If they really cared they would listen."

"If _you_ really cared you would come out of the shadows."

"Better than being known as the dude always kissing his girlfriend in public."

"I don't do that!"

"Yeah, and black _isn't_ my favorite color."

"Black isn't a color."

"Yes it is."

"No, it's a mix of all colors. Not one single color."

"Black is a color."

"Then why isn't it on the rainbow?"

"Because the rainbow is stupid."

"That's not logic that's an opinion."

"My opinion is logic."

"Says the goth that eats Happy Meals in graveyards trying to find a ghost who knows how to play myth-o—"

"I'm not goth!"

"Changing the subject. What are the Happy Meals ruining your _reputation._ Or was it myth-"

"Yes! Now _Shut Up!_ "

"Ooh touchy. They'll read about it anyway."

Nico groaned. The Romans all watching deciding between laughing and be shocked Nico spoke so much in one setting. Before anyone could say anything Reyna spoke up.

"Are you done?" She asked a smirk playing at her lips.

Nico and Percy turned obviously forgetting they had an audience.

"Yeah, Sorry." Percy said giving Nico a look that said this clearly wasn't over and him returning it.

"Please continue." Reyna nodded not missing the looks being exchanged.

 **He was fiddling with something—a little toy soldier.**

"Will you tell us now?" Gwen asked.

"No." Nico huffed.

"I will." Percy said excitedly.

"It's calle-"

"Shut _up!_ " Nico growled.

"Nico!" Hazel admonished.

"Why should I?" Percy challenged ignoring the girl with the golden hair.

"I will hurt you."

"Tell Thalia that then."

Nico glared at his cousin but stopped talking. Percy smirked.

"Moving on." Jason said looking at the two weirdly wondering about his sister.

 **"Stop talking!" Dr. Thorn said.**

 _Mini Skip._

 **I glanced behind me, wondering how far the drop was.**

 **Dr. Thorn laughed. "By all means, Son of Poseidon.** _ **Jump**_ **! There is the sea. Save yourself."**

 **"What did he call you?" Bianca muttered.**

 **"I'll explain later," I said.**

 **"You do have a plan right?"**

"Of course not, this is Percy." Nico interjected.

"Hey!"

"Don't be mean Nico." Hazel reprimanded.

"What about him?! He was being mean earlier!"

"I don't know him and you're my brother."

"Yeah Nico I only heard like one person's name." Percy interrupted.

"Where are your manners?"

"Right next to your respect and intelligence."

"Nico!" Hazel shouted.

"What! OK fine. Percy that's Hazel my half-sister daughter of Pluto. Frank her boyfr- I mean 'friend' son of Mars. Dakota son of Bacchus and his 'friend' Gwen undetermined. Then the praetors are Reyna daughter of Bellona and you know Jason son of Jupiter. Oh, and everybody else." Nico finished while the 'friends' were blushing.

"Wow. There were a lot of 'friends' there. Which one is Everybody Else? Do they have a 'friend'?" Percy smirked. The 'friends' blushed.

"Moving on." Frank said while Nico shook his head exasperatedly.

 _Skipping A Bit._

 **Maybe I could get both the di Angelos to jump with me into the ocean. If we survived the fall, I could use the water to protect us. I'd done things like that before. If my dad was in a good mood, and listening, he might help. Maybe.**

"Thanks Percy. Very reassuring." Nico rolled his eyes.

"Whatever. Like you could've done better." Percy shoved Nico.

"Yeah, actually. It's called shadow travel." Nico pronounced the last part slowly as if speaking to a child.

"Yeah?" Percy challenged. "With that many people? You'd probably get stranded in China and then pass out and everyone would die of hunger before you woke up."

"Hey, that was an accident." Nico defended, "and it's not my fault I'm so powerful. You know how it goes. 'With great power-"

"-comes great need to take a nap.' Whatever. The only time _my_ powers made _me_ pass out, was after I blew up Mount Saint Helens."

"...That's not how the saying goes." Frank said.

" _You_ blew up Mount Saint Helens!?" Dakota asked. "Dude!"

"You just must not have as much power as me." Nico ignored their companions.

"Nope, I've got more!" Percy grinned, " _and_ I have better control!"

"Excuse me? Do you know how hard it is to control ghosts!?"

" _Very_ hard I'm _sure_ , but do _you_ know how hard it is to control the _ocean_? I mean, I've _seen_ the underworld, several times in fact, and those ghouls could be mistaken for statues. And how fast does a shadow move? _15° an hour!_ But the ocean? That's _alive_! And it is constantly changing moods and _very_ stubborn."

"Sure you're not talking about yourself, Perce?"

"AS _enlightening_ as this is, can we resume the reading now?" Reyna asked with a raised brow.

"I _think_ you can." Percy sassed.

"Percy!" Nico scolded. "Sorry. Continue."

" _Thank you._ " Reyna eyed Percy as Gwen continued.

 **"I would kill you before you ever reached the water," Dr. Thorn said, as if reading my thoughts. "You do not realize who I am, do you?"**

 **A flicker of movement behind him, and another missile whistled so close to me that it nicked my ear. Something had sprung up behind Dr. Thorn—like a catapult, but more flexible… almost like a tail.**

 **"Unfortunately," Thorn said, "you are wanted alive, if possible. Otherwise you would already be dead."**

 **"Who wants us?" Bianca demanded. "Because if you think you'll get a ransom, you're wrong. We don't have any family. Nico and I…" Her voice broke a little. "We've got no one but each other."**

And just like that the joking mood was gone. Percy looked guilty about Bianca's death, Hazel and Frank looked concerned for Nico, Nico looked depressed, and the rest of the Romans felt guilty about ignoring him and shying away when he came near. Only some of them were showing it though. Most were just feeling it. _Apparently_ emotions make you weak, but they were slowly coming around.

 **"Aww," Dr. Thorn said. "Do not worry, little brats. You will be meeting my employer soon enough. Then you will have a brand-new family."**

 **"Luke," I said. "You work for Luke."**

"Who's Luke?" Dakota asked.

"Luke was a hero." Percy said with a finality that no sane person challenged.

"Doesn't _sound_ like it." Dakota said tipsily. _Hey no sane person._

Percy glared at him.

 **Dr. Thorn's mouth twisted with distaste when I said the name of my old enemy—a former friend who'd tried to kill me several times.**

"I thought you said he was a hero!" Jason exclaimed.

" _He is!_ " Percy insisted.

 **"You have no idea what is happening, Perseus Jackson. I will let the General enlighten you. You are going to do him a great service tonight. He is looking forward to meeting you."**

 **"The General?" I asked. Then I realized I'd said it with a French accent. "I mean… who's the General?"**

"That was sort of funny." Nico said.

"Glad I amuse you." Percy rolled his eyes. Nico stuck out his tongue. Percy narrowed his eyes. The Romans were surprised at his childishness.

"Nico!" Hazel shouted.

"Yes?" Nico asked looking innocent.

"Mmhm." Hazel hummed disbelievingly.

 **Thorn looked toward the horizon. "Ah, here we are. Your transportation."**

 **I turned and saw a light in the distance, a searchlight over the sea. Then I heard the chopping of helicopter blades getting louder and closer.**

"I've always wanted to ride in a helicopter." Frank said randomly.

"Maybe some other time. This doesn't seem like the ideal situation." Hazel replied.

 **"Where are you taking us?" Nico said.**

 **"You should be honored, my boy. You will have the opportunity to join a great army! Just like that silly game you play with cards and dolls."**

Percy snickered. Nico blushed.

 **"They're not dolls! They're figurines! And you can take your great army and—"**

"Yes Nico _now's_ the time to defend Myt-" Percy was cut off by a sudden hand to the face.

"You play with dolls?" Frank asked amused.

"No! They're figurines and I DON'T _play_ with them." Nico corrected with red cheeks.

"Sure Nico. Whatever you say." Percy laughed at his cousin's face.

"Shut up, Percy." Nico grumbled.

Percy just kept laughing.

 **"Now, now," Dr. Thorn warned. "You will change your mind about joining us, my boy. And if you do not, well… there are other uses for half-bloods. We have many monstrous mouths to feed. The Great Stirring is underway."**

 **"The Great what?" I asked. Anything to keep him talking while I tried to figure out a plan.**

 **"The stirring of monsters."**

" _No really?_ " Gwen interjected.

 **Dr. Thorn smiled evilly. "The worst of them, the most powerful, are now waking. Monsters that have not been seen in thousands of years. They will cause death and destruction the likes of which mortals have never known. And soon we shall have the most important monster of all—the one that shall bring about the downfall of Olympus!"**

"Well that _wasn't_ dramatic." Dakota said into his cup.

 **"Okay," Bianca whispered to me. "He's completely nuts."**

 **"We have to jump off the cliff," I told her quietly. "Into the sea."**

 **"Oh, super idea. You're completely nuts, too."**

"I like her." Gwen stated. Nico had a small sad smile.

 **"I never got the chance to argue with her, because just then an invisible force slammed into me."**

Reyna raised an eyebrow.

 **Looking back on it, Annabeth's move was brilliant.**

"Isn't it always?" Nico asked.

"True." Percy relented.

 **Wearing her cap of invisibility, she plowed into the di Angelos and me, knocking us to the ground.**

"That hurt." Nico complained.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Next time, we'll just LET THE MONSTER GET YOU!" Percy reprimanded. "I'm sure that will hurt _much_ less."

"Whatever."

 **For a split second, Dr. Thorn was taken by surprise, so his first volley of missiles zipped harmlessly over our heads. This gave Thalia and Grover a chance to advance from behind—Thalia wielding her magic shield, Aegis.**

"Like Minerva's." Jason asked.

"The only other." Nico confirmed.

 **Even Dr. Thorn winced and growled when he saw it.**

 **Thalia moved in with her spear. "For Zeus!"**

 **Dr. Thorn roared and began to change. He grew larger until he was in his true form—his face still human, but his body that of a huge lion. His leathery, spiky tail whipped deadly thorns in all directions.**

People gasped.

" **A manticore!" Annabeth said, now visible. Her magical New York Yankees cap had come off when she'd plowed into us.**

"That's cool." Someone said.

 **"Who are you people?" Bianca di Angelo demanded. "And what is that?"**

 **"A manticore?" Nico gasped. "He's got three thousand attack power and plus five to saving throws!"**

The people who played Myth-o-Magic in the crowd raised their eyebrows at Nico while Percy was laughing his head off ignoring the glaring son of Hades.

 **I didn't know what he was talking about, but I didn't have time to worry about it. The manticore clawed Grover's magic weeds to shreds then turned toward us with a snarl.**

 **"Get down!" Annabeth pushed the di Angelos flat into the snow. At the last second, I remembered my own shield. I hit my wristwatch, and metal plating spiraled out into a thick bronze shield. Not a moment too soon. The thorns impacted against it with such force they dented the metal. The beautiful shield, a gift from my brother,**

"There's another child of Poseidon?" Hazel asked.

"Yup." Percy said proudly. "He's a cyclops and his name is Tyson. He made my shield and my armor."

The Romans just looked at Percy as if he was crazy for consorting with a cyclops.

 **was badly damaged. I wasn't sure it would even stop a second volley.**

 **I heard a thwack and a yelp, and Grover landed next to me with a thud.**

People started getting worried.

 **"Yield!" the monster roared.**

 **"Never!" Thalia yelled from across the field. The searchlights blinded Thalia, and the manticore swatted her away with its tail. Her shield flew off into the snow.**

 **Her spear flew in the other direction.**

 **"No!" I ran out to help her. I parried away a spike just before it would've hit her chest. I raised my shield over us, but I knew it wouldn't be enough.**

 **Dr. Thorn laughed. "Now do you see how hopeless it is? Yield, little heroes."**

 **We were trapped between a monster and a fully armed helicopter. We had no chance.**

"Just like usual." Nico stated.

"Yup." His Greek cousin replied.

 **Then I heard a clear, piercing sound: the call of a hunting horn blowing in the woods.**

Nico scowled. The people who understood gasped.

 **The manticore froze. For a moment, no one moved. There was only the swirl of snow and wind and the chopping of the helicopter blades.**

 **"No," Dr. Thorn said. "It cannot be—"**

 **His sentence was cut short when something shot past me like a streak of moonlight. A glowing silver arrow sprouted from Dr. Thorn's shoulder.**

The people who didn't understand were _very_ confused.

 **He staggered backward, wailing in agony.**

 **"Curse you!" Thorn cried.**

 **Then the archers came from the woods. They were girls, about a dozen of them. The youngest was maybe ten. The oldest, about fourteen, like me. They wore silvery ski parkas and jeans, and they were all armed with bows. They advanced on the manticore with determined expressions.**

 **"The Hunters!" Annabeth cried.**

"I don't know if that's good or bad." Jason admitted.

"Well considering your sister is one…" Percy said.

"I'll go with good then."

"Not what I was implying, but sure."

 **Next to me, Thalia muttered, "Oh, wonderful."**

"I thought she was a Hunter?" Jason said.

"They had a rocky start."

 **One of the older archers stepped forward with her bow drawn. She was tall and graceful with coppery colored skin. Unlike the other girls, she had a silver circlet braided into the top of her long dark hair, so she looked like some kind of Persian princess. "Permission to kill, my lady?"**

 **I couldn't tell who she was talking to, because she kept her eyes on the manticore.**

 **The monster wailed. "This is not fair! Direct interference! It is against the Ancient Laws."**

 **"Not so," another girl said. This one was a little younger than me, maybe twelve or thirteen.**

 **She had auburn hair gathered back in a ponytail and strange eyes, silvery yellow like the moon. Her face**

 _Mini skip_

 **was stern and dangerous.**

Hazel gasped. "Lady Diana."

"Artemis actually." Nico corrected.

"Wait a second. Who are these people?" Gwen inquired.

"The Hunters of Artemis." Percy answered. "It's Artemis's way of beating her virginity vow. Since she can't produce children of thought like Athena, she takes young girls, who swear to be virgins and loyal to her forever, and makes them immortal to hunt with her for eternity."

"Cool." Gwen responded.

" **The hunting of all wild beasts is within my sphere. And you, foul creature, are a wild beast." She looked at the older girl with the circlet. "Zoe, permission granted."**

 **The manticore growled. "If I cannot have these alive, I shall have them dead!"**

 **He lunged at Thalia and me, knowing we were weak and dazed.**

Now people were listening intently to see what happened.

 **"No!" Annabeth yelled, and she charged at the monster.**

 **"Get back, half-blood!" the girl with the circlet said. "Get out of the line of fire!"**

 **But Annabeth leaped onto the monster's back and drove her knife into his mane. The manticore howled, turning in circles with his tail flailing as Annabeth hung on for dear life.**

Percy looked sad remembering what happened.

 **"Fire!" Zoe ordered.**

 **"No!" I screamed.**

 **But the Hunters let their arrows fly. The first caught the manticore in the neck. Another hit his chest. The manticore staggered backward, wailing, "This is not the end, Huntress! You shall pay!"**

 **And before anyone could react, the monster, with Annabeth still on his back, leaped over the cliff and tumbled into the darkness.**

 **"Annabeth!" I yelled.**

Everyone looked sad even if they didn't know the girl she was a brave fighter.

 **I started to run after her, but our enemies weren't done with us. There was a snap-snap-snap from the helicopter—the sound of gunfire.**

 **Most of the Hunters scattered as tiny holes appeared in the snow at their feet, but the girl with auburn hair just looked up calmly at the helicopter.**

 **"Mortals," she announced, "are not allowed to witness my hunt."**

 **She thrust out her hand, and the helicopter exploded into dust—no, not dust. The black metal dissolved into a flock of birds—ravens, which scattered into the night.**

 **The Hunters advanced on us.**

"What? I thought they were helping you?" Frank asked.

"More or less." Nico replied sourly.

 **The one called Zoe stopped short when she saw Thalia. "You," she said with distaste.**

 **"Zoe Nightshade." Thalia's voice trembled with anger. "Perfect timing, as usual."**

"Yeah I can see the rocky start. What happened?" Jason asked. Percy and Nico just shrugged.

 **Zoe scanned the rest of us. "Four half-bloods and a satyr, my lady.**

 **"Yes," the younger girl said. "Some of Chiron's campers, I see."**

 **"Annabeth!" I yelled. "You have to let us save her!"**

 **The auburn-haired girl turned toward me. "I'm sorry, Percy Jackson, but your friend is beyond help."**

 **I tried to struggle to my feet, but a couple of the girls held me down.**

 **"You are in no condition to be hurling yourself off cliffs," the auburn-haired girl said.**

 **"Let me go!" I demanded. "Who do you think you are?"**

The Romans looked at Percy as if he were crazy. He just smiled and waved back at them. Nico face-palmed.

 **Zoe stepped forward as if to smack me.**

 **"No," the other girl ordered. "I sense no disrespect, Zoe. He is simply distraught. He does not understand."**

 **The young girl looked at me, her eyes colder and brighter than the winter moon. "I am Artemis," she said. "Goddess of the Hunt."**

"-Done. How are you _not_ a jackalope right now?" Gwen asked.

"I'm special." Percy replied.

"Yeah. Special _Ed._ " Nico muttered.

"I heard that!"

"Good."

Before they could start fighting again the air began to shimmer signaling someone's arrival.

A/N: I know you probably don't care but I _am rrrrrreeeeeeaaaaaallllllyyyyyy_ sorry it took so long.

P.S. No offence to special ed. people. I actually think they're really fun to be around they're really funny.


End file.
